The Geek Atlas

073

The Hunterian Museum, Glasgow, Scotland

55° 52′ 19″ N, 4° 17′ 19″ W

William Hunter and Lord Kelvin

The 18th-century anatomist and obstetrician William Hunter (brother of John Hunter; see Chapter 64) bequeathed the money for the creation of the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow. He also provided the core of its collection—his medical equipment and specimens, and his wide-ranging collection of art works, coins, books, and minerals. In the 200 years since its creation, the museum has vastly expanded its collection of scientific and artistic works, and also contains the most important public exhibition of the work of another great Glaswegian, William Thomson (who became Lord Kelvin).

William Hunter introduced the practice of using cadavers to teach medical students. He eventually specialized in obstetrics, publishing his illustrated The Anatomy of the Human Gravid Uterus in 1774 (see Figure 73-1).

Figure 73-1. Illustration from The Anatomy of the Human Gravid Uterus

The museum celebrates ...